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2010

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2013

  • Work on this object ended.

2016

2025

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Grassroots Mapping

This is a Project. It was designed by MIT Media Lab. It is dated 2010–2013. Its medium is trash bags, balloons, plastic bottle, braided nylon string, reel, tape, digital camera, rubber band, helium.

Grassroots Mapping is an open-source, participatory approach to mapping that enables communities to create their own maps using inexpensive equipment. Started by Jeff Warren, Grassroots Mapping consists of a digital camera with continuous mode shooting lofted by a kite, balloon, or inflated trash bag to snap aerial images. Snapshots are geographically referenced, stitched together, and overlaid on Google Maps. This is often the first time residents see their settlement from overhead, enabling them to better understand the relationship of their community to the surrounding city. Residents can use the maps to support land-title claims or to aid in upgrading efforts.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/420778933/ |title=Grassroots Mapping |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>